GIVE A CHANCE TO YOUR INNER CHILD TO BE BORING

Never give up on asking “why?”

I’m pretty sure that you are thinking: “why?” Let me explain why this simple three letter will be your best design tool.

WHY? — Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

What follow is an over simplification, i need this simplified scenario to better explain my point. Do not take it too seriously.

The design brief session is about to start — Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

Imagine to be with me attending to a meeting where a client explain his brief.
At the table there are me(M), you(Y) and The Client (C)

C — “We need to make the logo bigger”.

Someone, a diligent graphic designer, just like me in the past, will be tempted to turn on the computer and fix the logo, take the money and say good bye.
Other people will start to ask for a budget, staffing a team with a PM, an Account, some designers and an outsourced development team. They will prepare a huge gantt with deadline and a presentation with assumptions and critical points.
The myself of today think we need to understand more:

M — Sounds good, could please explain why (1) you need to do this?

C — We need to do this because the actual logo is too little?

M — Ok, why (2) do you end up with this?

C — Because a bigger logo will be more visible to our clients

M — Thinking: “So you need a more visible logo, not just a bigger one.”
Let me stress this out: Why (3) do you need a more visible logo?

Y — Why we have to be boring to death keeping asking why?

M — Keep asking why could make you look boring and dumb, but I think it’s better to be smart and look dumb than look smart and be dumb. For the boring side of the critic yo need to learn how to ask why always in a new and interesting way. I keep asking because we have to find the true motivation behind what they said.

Y — Why we have to find true motivations?

M — Otherwise we couldn’t design something relevant. We can just apply a design cliché or a buzz technology to an imaginary scenario

Y — Why we have to design something relevant.

Stand out on the market — Photo by Karine Germain on Unsplash

M — To connect people needs and business needs and stay relevant on the market. But, let’s return to the question for our client: Why (3) do you need a more visible logo?

C — To have our pack more visible on the supermarket shelves

M — Thinking: “So you need a more visible product, not just a bigger logo.”
Why (4) do you need your product be more visible on the shelves?
Thinking: “I could assume why, but it’s alway better asking”.

C — we are losing market share for the benefit of one of our competitor who has a packaging with a bigger logo than us.

M — Thinking: “So you need to raise your market share, not a bigger logo.”
Ok, let me just reframe your brief, to understand better your needs:
There is a change in your market: Your competitors start using strong and direct communication to stand out in the eyes of consumers.
As result of this you are loosing market share.
You need to gain customers and retain the existing ones. Maybe enlarge the logo will be the solution but maybe we could propose something better.

Transpose this fictional scenario to your daily job experience and you’ll notice how may time just asking why could increase the quality and the quantity of your understanding of the one you are interacting with.

Asking this simple question, WHY, forces everyone to look at the logic and proof behind the decision already made, only there it’s possible to challenge the “as always done before” mindset.

P.s. for the commercial people: understand the real why behind a request is an enabler for services up-selling $$$

Sapere aude

Manuel

This article is the second of my lessons learned in my first year as UX designer

Lessons learned in my first years as UX designer